Stan Kroenke, right, has to transfer ownership of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his son, Josh, left. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Real estate mogul and billionaire Stan Kroenke become the full owner of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams in August of 2010 after purchasing the interest of late owner Georgia Frontiere. To receive the consent of the other NFL owners, however, Kroenke had to agree to turn over control of his other professional sports teams in Denver — the NBA’s Nuggets and the NHL’s Avalanche — to his son, Josh, by the end of the year because of the NFL’s cross-ownership rule. Per the agreement, Kroenke must give up his majority stake in the Nuggets and Avs by December of 2014.

But according to Sports Business Daily on Monday, the league is likely to give him a 12-month extension to transfer ownership to his son. (The NFL allows such in-family transfers if the receiving member has no part in the team’s operation.) The deal would require Kroenke to inform the league by June of 2015 how he plans to divest his teams.
Texans owner and NFL Finance Committee Chairman Bob McNair told SBD that the reason four years is not enough time for Kroenke to transfer ownership is estate planning. McNair said he believed the extension would easily receive approval Monday, but SBD’s sources said that not all owners were in favor.

Kroenke recently purchased 60 acres near Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, and the Rams’ current lease expires after this season, leading many to believe Kroenke would push for a permanent exemption from the cross-ownership rule as part of his move to take the Rams to L.A.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.